Mamas Day

I hope all you Mommas had a wonderful mothers day! I had such a great day. Woke up to breakfast and crafts the kids had made me. Then I go t a foot rub from my 4 year old. So cute. I able to spend the day with my wonderful Mom. I am so blessed to not only have her as an amazing Mom but a best friend! She is truly an amazing woman and SO DAMN GORGEOUS TOO!!

 I also have been so lucky to have a mother in law that I adore. She is such a strong woman. I love her with all my heart!

 Here is my aunt Jen, Myself, my Mom, and my Grandma at the mothers day bbq.

 This is why I am so blessed to be a Mom. These to angels of mine make my life so much better. I don't know how I got so lucky to be their Mommy, but I am truly so grateful for them. Being a Mom has been the hardest and most REWARDING and absolute BEST job I have ever had. They really complete my crazy life.

I have been slacking on projects, but I have one in store. I am working on a big project right now, I will be posting about it later next week! WAHOO .... be excited ha ha:) xoxo

My struggle with weight loss...

Ok this has been something I have wanted to post for a long time, but I have been nervous because no one likes to show FAT pictures of themselves, right? The main reason I am doing it is because while going through my challenges, a lot of blogs that posted about their weight struggle and how they bettered themselves, inspired me. So if I can inspire ONE person, I feel like this will be totally worth it. So here we go.

After having my two kids I had the hardest time getting the weight off, ok it was hard because I was LAZY!!! I am not one of those women that put the same jeans they wore before baby, after my kids were born. I gained 50 lbs with my first and only lost half of the weight and then gained 20lbs with my second. In Jan of 2011 I stood on the scale weighing 168..... Oh, holly shysta that hurts to say that! I was fed up and decided it was time to take care of me. As a mom I felt like it was selfish to leave the kids and go to the gym or anywhere for that matter, (poor excuse) but to be a better me, I had to do it and it ended up being much better not only for me but for my family. There is NO secret to loosing weight. It is a change in your lifestyle and complete commitment and dedication. In June of 2011 I stood on the scale and weighed 136, I had lost a total of 31 lbs and went down 4 to 5 dress sizes (depending on the pants) I did it the right way. I started eating smaller portions and exercised 4 to 6 days a week. I also joined a indoor soccer league and it is so much fun and such a great workout. Now listen, I am one that HATED DESPISED LOATHED the gym, but in all honesty after I started feeling so great and started seeing results I loved it!! I now actually get excited to go!!! 

Back in the day I was a high school cheerleader and very active, I was in pretty good shape so when I had gained all that weight I did not feel like me! I felt like I was someone completely different. I would hide behind people when the camera came out and I wore long sleeve shirts and long pants in the summer!! I hated showing any part of my body! Now since the weight loss I feel so much better. I actually like getting dressed up, and I'm not embarrassed to wear tank tops anymore! WOO HOO. I am proud of myself and the example I am now for my kids. If I can do it you can do it! It is tough at the beginning, but I promise you it is SO worth it in the end! 

I am never ever going to be a size 2 or maybe not even a size 4, and I am probably never going to wear a 2 piece swimsuit because I have stretch marks tiger stripes all over my stomach,  but I am happy with me. and I think that is all that matters. I still have a goal to meet, but I am happy about how far I have come.

Fashion show

My brother in law was the creative director for a fashion show up in SLC and we were lucky enough to go. It was a lot of fun to see all the clothes that I could never afford, and the shoes that I probably could not walk in. Ha ha The best part of the whole show was watching Ally's reactions to all the dresses and shoes. She was so intrigued with the whole show and was so thrilled she got to meet the models. It was so dang cute! My little fashionista had such a great time and can't wait to go again next year.

Tangled Birthday party

Last September My little Ally wanted a Tangled themed party. Although I don't have all my pictures i thought I'd share some of the ideas I had. Btw you can download free birthday invite and tangled water bottle labels.... FREE

The cards I designed had a front and back and they turned out awesome!! I did it so they were printed with the scalloped edges. I printed them through Pro digital photos and they really did such an amazing job. I did the pearl and linen finish! WOO HOO!!

I designed the free one a little different so it would be easier to customize! If you want the front page to with the picture of your child just like the ones above, I could do it for you for a minimal cost. (very minimal) just contact me at mrsthisandthatblog@gmail.com

Download this card here: http:Tangled invite

Download water bottle labels here: Labels

 Here are a few pictures: 

  Made the cute pom pom decorations out of tissue paper. Google it on how to make them. Super easy & cheap!! 

 Candle stick from TJ max and decorated it with sticks and moss. Then I was able to put her cupcake right on top! Super cheap and OH SO CUTE!!!

We did the bounce house which was a huge hit! It is actually our friends/neighbor that owns it. They are great people and their prices are awesome. if you live in the SLC or Utah county area, give them a call they will bring it to you! 801-635-0562 his name is Geoff

Ok so Ally wanted to do pin the tail on the donkey, but that didn't fit the theme, so I got a foam board at the dollar store and traced Flynn with out a nose (you know like in the movie they never get his nose right!) BTW I am not an artist at all I just copied a picture from the web onto the board with pencil (there was a LOT erasing and re-doing) But it turned out pretty good!. 

Then I googled "cartoon noses" amd found this:

I printed and cut them out and that is what the kids pinned on flynn! FUN!!

  OK this was THE BEST part of the party. The sky lanterns. I have to say that it seriously was so much fun and all the adults enjoyed it just as much if not more than the kids. One word of advice though. Tie a string on it because that way you can pull them down and blow them out. We dont want any wild fires!! here is the website i got the lanterns at: http://ads.justartifacts.net/landings/skylanterns/1dollar.htm?cp=skylan&ad=1dSky&kw=floating%20lanterns&nw=sc It was so cheap and SOOOO entertaining. 

And last but not least here is me with my birthday girl:

 Next birthday party I am going to share with you is a curious george themed party! Stay tuned!

Wood wall decor

 I love making decor that doesnt cost a thing! I needed a little something next to my front door. So with wood left over from my Headboard project and left over fabric I came up with this:

1. Cut wood all the same length (i didn't cut them all exactly the because I like the imperfect look)
2. staple together (or glue, your choice)
3. I stapled on both sides because I wanted it to look more rustic.
4. make sure if glued it is dry or if you have not stained the wood go ahead now.
5. attach some sort of claw hook to the back for hanging.

6. add your fabric flower
7. add buttons if you want
8. trim any excess fabric if needed

And there you have it! Super simple and it adds so much character to my front room!! hope you enjoyed this post! xoxo

Another mothers day gift Idea:

Hey guys I forgot to mention two other gifts that I think is pretty awesome. Have you ever heard of animoto? Well it is a website where you can make a picture montage with music and it is SO easy!!! I do them all the time. All you do is upload your pictures and music (they even have music you could choose from) It looks so professional. The most recent one I made is for my sons 2nd birthday so i';l share that one with you so you can see what it looks like. I know that my mom loves these videos and they make her cry every time. It is very special and personal. For a 30 second video it is FREE, I pay $5.00 a month (or one time fee if you only need it for 1 project)  to have unlimited full length video. go to their website for all the information: Animoto
 GREAT idea!

The other Idea I had is, My mom has a ton of family video tapes that she hasn't been able to watch for years because she no longer has the video camera she once used. I want to take all of her video tapes and get them transferred to DVD's. That is a priceless gift, don't you think? The only problem is I have searched and found a couple places but don't know the best source to go through. I found this one: http://www.joskermediavideo.com/

It seems like a great price.... THIS IS WHERE I NEED YOUR GUYS HELP!! if you or someone you know has done this before and have a recommendation on where to go PLEASE let me know! 

Anyways hope you all have a GREAT day and thank you so much for stopping by! 

xoxo

Oh how I Love fellow bloggers!

I have been featured on 2 different blogs today... HOW exciting!

My free free mothers day coupon printables were featured on: Little cottage Big life

and my DIY headboard was featured on: THE DELECTABLE HOME

Now share the love and go check out their blogs! Thanks again you guys for all the love coming my way!! I LOVE the blogging world and all the new friendships that are beginning to form! xoxoxo